Mark Ritson

My essential photography equipment:

As a reclusive extrovert… I am grateful to live in the beautiful trough of Bowland in the North West of England, which is breath taking in any season. Spain is also home and I spend plenty of time there with my cameras.

I enjoy capturing the life and the land in any natural environment. I am emotionally pulled toward different ideas and genres of creativity throughout the seasons. Though I love landscape photography, one of my favourite subjects is wildlife such as horses, dogs and especially big cats.

I photograph a lot of pets and try to capture something of the emotion in the animal, a big cat when it is hungry, a dog in full flight or the bond with its owner. Horses develop such a strong bond with their owners and sometimes even visiting cats! When tender moments happen they are beautiful to capture.

Conversely I adore the genre of Abstract. Photography is just something I do amongst that which I love. As a child I spent many hours watching a sculptor chiselling stone, I was fascinated by the concept that the finished shapes were already there, and the process was to reveal them. Of course they are in the mind of the creator. I think this is why I love many forms of photography. I’m drawn to any form of expression that uses the viewer’s experience and emotion to provide response.

I am truly filled with joy when I see something that makes me react including those moments of special light, I will never tire of it, I will always be in awe of nature. I’m passionate about the process as well as the results, I print my own work and that of other photographers who require gallery standard. There is nothing like a print.

Photographer that inspire me:

So many inspire me, and for different reasons... Some because I admire the individual and their drive and obsession, others it is their actual work. Charlie Waite is one example, his work often seems to be a composition and moment of light only he would find or rather wait for!

David Bailey remains a beautifully authentic and grumpy artist although his work is full of feeling and passion.

Scott Bourne who is a great example that knowing your subject is such a powerful tool as displayed in his avian work. That is years of pursuit in his photos. Ditto Nick Brandt.

My Favourite photo:

I struggle with favourites, To answer this I have considered only photographs I have seen in print in the flesh. Today I will say “Lion Before Storm Sitting Profile” by Nick Brandt. Tomorrow is another day.

When I became a professional:

The short answer is when people started buying my work which was around 2008 (a photo of a battered can of beans washed up on the pebbles of the Suffolk coast taken in 2004 just 12 hours before the tsunami). Though in truth I do not think of myself as professional since that implies being for sale, or superior and I’ve never had to live of the proceeds of photography which I think may have hindered my journey.

I am also amazed at the standard of work from the committed amateur, see 500px! I do feel photography is about the creativity in the mind but needs execution and the right gear. We are in an age where investment in premium equipment is now within reach for many amateurs and if you look into the history of the word amateur it actually means the one who dedicated time and efforts through sheer passion (not reward) for the medium and was the revered exponent of any craft. I think this is demonstrated on those sites like 500px.

I know a creative and compelling image can be made with almost any camera, but mostly an image that prints well and of certain genres simply relies on good tools.

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